The Weltchek Weekly

Ashley Callahan, Coca-Cola’s manager for digital communications and social media, asks that question. If the answer is yes, the content in question is one step closer to getting posted.

Surprise catches your attention, which makes it a good device to slip into all types of business content.

But how do you add surprise to topics that don’t normally make jaws drop?

Write the unexpected.

Each of the following examples had a dash of surprise that grabbed my attention.

“I made it past auditions,” the sticker on the Sockeye salmon wrap shouted from its case at Pret A Manger. Charmed, I bought the eatery’s newest addition, and I went back the next day to see what the other sandwiches had to say.

“I didn’t start caring about jobs when I ran a company. I started caring about jobs when I saw my father lose his,” said Gov. Rick Scott of Florida in a recent speech. I don’t follow Florida politics, but Scott’s candor caught my eye.

No. 3 comes from sportswriter Jason Gay who in the middle of the 2013 football season wondered whether it would be possible to get through a Giants game “without clutching a pillow and weeping.” I don’t watch football or regularly read the sports pages. But that was hilarious. Now I read Jason Gay.

A quirky brand voice, a revealing quote, and an appeal to human emotion are all ways to surprise your reader. Here’s another: Next time you’re about to end a sentence with “and more,” stop. Describe more. It’s your opportunity to say something unexpected.